Merlin's Dragon
by cbrstrshp
Summary: A quick drabble about if the Merlinan's had a dragon too.


Getting separated from your friends is never a fun thing. Getting separated while in the New York City, even less fun. Anara and her friends were in the city for a birthday party, usually a fun occasion. However, amidst the crowd, Anara lost her friends. It was her fault though because a sweater in a store window caught her eye and she couldn't help but look. That was how she lost her friends. All the attention was on the birthday girl so they probably wouldn't notice she was gone until they got to the restaurant. Thankfully, Anara remembered the name of the restaurant so if she found a cop she could ask for directions.

Anara was heading in the same direction that she last saw her friends go when she was suddenly pulled to the back of an ally. Several men blocked the entrance to the street. Like it wasn't cliché enough?

"Well, a'nt you a pretty thang? Watcha doin' all 'lone 'ot her'?"

Anara wan't to make a snide comment on the thug's grammar but that would only anger the delinquent with the knife. Best not anger the idiot, even if he didn't realize he just grabbed the worst person in the city.

"I… uh…"

She decided to go with the stupid-female routine. Anara didn't want to have to use her powers if she could avoid it and acting might by her enough time for someone to notice something wrong, doubtful but ya never know.

"You a'nt from her', girlie. You look high class. Fork over the dough."

Great, this is what she gets for getting dressed. She was hoping to attract a guy but this is not the type of guy she had in mind.

"Here."

Anara tossed what little cash she had at them. She wasn't stupid to keep all of it in her bag if they searched but they had her ID and credit cards now.

"Anara? What f'ed up name is that?"

She wasn't going to dignify them with an answer but when the closed in on her she began to get nervous.

"What do you want? I gave you my money, can I go now?"

"Well now I want more."

Although she didn't want to, Anara had no choice but to let _it_ out. Her eyes slowly began to change and her teeth sharpen. Just as she was about to attack, the thugs were thrown into the wall, effectively knocking them out.

"Are you alright?"

A tall, punk looking guy ran into the ally and to Anara, stopping to grab the dropped wallet. She quickly reverted to her normal state as the guy approached.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No I'm okay. How did you do that?"

The guy wasn't anywhere near them and he managed to throw the thugs into the wall, something smelled and it wasn't their bad odor, though it was sort of pungent.

"I, well, it…"

The guy stammered and rubbed the back of his neck. That was when Anara spotted his ring.

"You're a sorcerer?!"

He relaxed a bit and smiled. Talk about a charming smile. Anara could feel her heart pick up its pace just a bit.

"Yea, you?"

"In a manner of speaking, yea. Thank you, I don't have good control of my magic yet so I was afraid to do something. Don't wanna inadvertently blow the block up."

"Where is your master?"

Anara looked down at her feet. She couldn't tell him that she didn't need one, he would become suspicious, even if he was a sorcerer.

"I don't have one."

"Mine left me years ago. Good riddance I say. I'm doing magic shows now, there's a lot of money in it."

A smile formed on Anara's lips and she felt at ease.  
"I'm Anara."

"Drake. Common, let's get out of here."

She nodded as she took Drake's outstretched hand and they walked to the street. Anara explained that she was here for her friend's party. Thankfully, Drake knew of the restaurant and escorted her the rest of the way. Outside the restaurant, her friends were panicking. One was talking to the police while the others were unsuccessfully trying to stay calm.

"Hey guys."

"Anara!"

Her friends swarmed her with hugs, asking her where she was. Anara told them about the thugs and how Drake saved her. The cop suddenly became interested and asked where the thugs were. Drake agreed to take the cop to where the ally was; the thugs were most likely still knocked out seeing as how it didn't take them long to get to the restaurant. The cop took Anara's information so she could make a statement later and waited for Drake.

"You'll be okay?"

"Yea, I just have to remember not to go off into la-la-land while in the city."

Drake smiled and pulled out a card.

"Here's my number. Give me a ring sometime, yea?"

Anara nodded and hugged Drake goodbye. As Drake and the cop left, Anara's friends smiled and pulled her into the restaurant where they drilled her on the cute Brit who saved her.

"Another time guys, we're here to celebrate a birthday. I'm fine and that's what matters. We can gossip tomorrow."

Her friends made her promise and they resumed to festivities.

When Anara got home, she dropped her bag on the floor and flopped onto her bed. She told her parents everything that had happened. They were worried but happy that their only daughter was safe. Anara told them she just wanted to rest and they left her alone to sleep. Instead of sleeping Anara pulled out Drake's card from her pocket and contemplated calling. What's the worst thing that could happen?

"Hello?"

"Drake, this is Anara."

"Anara! Hey! How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired, but okay. I wanted to thank you again for saving me this afternoon."

"I wish I could have been there sooner. Listen, I don't know if this is the right time to ask but do you want to do lunch one day?"

"I don't think my parents would let me go into the city by myself after this."

"Right, bollocks. What if I came to you?"

"That would work; they would probably want to meet you though. They mentioned something about wanting to thank you properly."

"Are they sorcerers too?"

"No and don't tell them anything about it. I was adopted and I would hate for them to think they adopted a freak or something."

"You're not a freak, Anara, but I won't say anything. I promise. How does this weekend sound?"

"Sounds good. I'm barely staying awake now. I'll talk to you soon."

"I'll call you later with details. Sleep well."

"Bye."

"Bye."

They both hung up and Anara fell asleep peacefully and deeply, dreaming of her British savior.

The weekend came quickly and Drake had called her to let her know he was on his way. Anara finished getting ready and when she heard a knock at the door, she rushed to answer it. There was Drake, in _regular_ clothes standing on her front stoop.

"Hi, come in. Drake's here."

Anara's parents walked in from the kitchen and introduced themselves. They thanked Drake for helping their daughter. They were shocked that something like that happened because usually Anara was careful and she wasn't one to be bullied; the bullies were usually afraid of her as a matter of fact. Her parents didn't know that they had good reason to be.

"Okay, let's go before they start with the embarrassing childhood stories."

"Another time, yea?"

Drake shook hands again and let Anara out to the street.

"So where are we going?"

"I heard of this popular new place a few towns over. With all the commotion we can easily talk about _things_."

Anara smiled as Drake held the car door for her.

"Sounds like a plan."

The car ride was quick and the conversation was easy. They started on how they first realized they had magic then worked their way into funny mishaps with their first lessons. When they reached the restaurant, the conversation was put on the back burner until the food and drink were ordered.

"So you said you don't have a master. How come?"

"Well, since I was adopted I had to keep it a secret. I'm sure my parents wouldn't care but how do you tell your parents that you are a sorcerer and need to find someone to help you learn magic? I just figured things out as I went along. I'm pretty good at playing things by ear."

"I give you credit for going through that. My master was the one who found me. Then he left, I'm still not sure why."

"I'm sorry that happened. To have and lost is worse than to not have had at all. It must have cut deep when he left."

"It did, but I cope."

"I'd say! Making a career out of magic, not too shabby."

The clinked their glasses together and ate as they continued to share more about themselves.

"I have to admit though, I can't tell what side you're on."

"Merlinean."

Drake paled and then Anara knew that he was Morganian.

"It's not fair."

They both looked at each other with a look of anguish. Fate could be cruel sometimes.

"Sod it."

Drake leaned across the table and kissed Anara.

"I was never good with rules anyway. Who cares, yea?"

"Agreed."

Lunch went smoothly after that, as did the next few months. Anara's parents liked Drake, they thought it was odd that he was into magic but they knew Anara liked all that kind of stuff so it was perfect, as far as they knew. Then the worst possible thing happened. Horvath returned.

Drake called Anara as soon as Horvath left his apartment. He told her that the Prime Merlinean was found and that Balthazar was teaching him.

"Stay home and don't come to the city. Please."

"I'm not going to let you get dragged into this by some old fart! No way!"

"Anara, if he finds out about you, it'll be bad. He is extremely old school, he doesn't believe in relationships. Personally, I think something happened between him and Balthazar but he won't admit it to me. He is hell bent on releasing Morgana. I don't want to help him but I'm the only Morganian around. If I don't help it'll look suspicious. Just, please, lay low for now. I'll call you when I can. Bollocks, he's coming back."

"Drake…"

"Yea?"

"Be safe, ya hear?"

"Yea."

Anara couldn't sleep that night or the nights following. She would receive a few texts from him tell her that he was okay. Suddenly Anara felt a pull, a strong pull. It was telling her to go to the city. Anara told her parents that she was going to meet up with Drake in the city and that she would text when she got there.

When Anara got to the city, she followed the pull toward China Town. When she got there, there was a dragon terrorizing the city and going after a guy a few years younger than her. Using her enhanced vision, Anara saw that he wore the dragon ring. Better still, he had no idea how to control magic; great, her master was facing a dragon and he was untrained. Anara felt a headache coming on.

The Morganian controlling the dragon made the dragon charge up the side of the building and Anara could hear Balthazar giving the Prime Merlinean instructions. With a fiery blast, the dragon fell and killed the Morganian dragon master. At least she didn't have to worry about fighting a dragon during this little bout. Two dragons running around wouldn't be good for the local populace.

Anara quickly texted her mom that she was going to be home late and that she and Drake were going to stay up late playing video games, totally believable. When the two Merlineans drove off Anara quickly followed them, using her magic to keep up as they drove through the city.

Clearly, Balthazar knew they were being followed and right as he opened his car door he froze Anara in her tracks.

"Who are you and why are you following us?"

Anara made some choking sounds; Balthazar would have to unfreeze her head if he wanted her to talk. With a wave of his hand, the paralysis disappeared.

"My name is Anara. I'm the Merlinean dragon."

The Prime Merlinean who was on the other side of the car just looked at Anara as if she were nuts.

"She is the what?"

"You know that guy you just beat? He was the master of the Morganian dragon. You are the Prime Merlinian and therefore my master. When you started using magic you triggered the call and here I am."

Balthazar unfroze Anara and she stumbled forward.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you but I have a project to finish so if you can release me that would be awesome."

The Prime Merlinean looked at his master with utter confusion. Balthazar sighed as he turned to face his apprentice.

"Your subconscious is calling out to her. She is like your guardian to fight the demons, but don't worry about that, there won't be any demons unless Morgana is released. For now, think about sending her away."

"We could use her help though!"

"No, I don't fight sorcerers' battles. My soul purpose is to kill the demons that Morganians raise and fight their dragon. You disposed of their dragon and the Morganians are preoccupied with bringing Morgana back so there are no demons, yet. You release me or I will not be held liable for my actions."

Slowly, Anara's features changed into something feral. Balthazar instructed his apprentice to clear his mind and think of opening a cage and letting a dragon free. The Prime Merlinean did as he was told and Anara felt the call wane then vanish.

"Thank you."

"You know that Morgana is looking to resurrect her dead followers and take over the world, right?"

Balthazar called out to Anara as she turned to leave.

"That's why you guys are around, you're strong enough. See ya on the flip side."

Anara grew wings and took off into the night sky. She used her magic to cloak herself in shadow as she flew, she didn't want to be spotted by civilians. As she flew off, she could hear the Prime Merlinean ask his master why he let the dragon go. Balthazar's answer made her smile.

"Rule number 18; never mess with a dragon."

Days passed and Anara and Drake resorted to sending birds back and forth to one another. Then the birds stopped coming. She tried calling but there was no answer. Anara's stomach dropped and she feared the worse. Not caring about being seen, Anara ran to the preserve, grew wings, and flew to Drake's apartment. When she got there, she didn't see him in his usual spot on the couch. His bedroom door was slightly ajar and Anara feared what she would find inside. She slowly opened the door and fury and sorrow overtook her. There on the bed was Drake, he was extremely pale and not moving.

Anara rushed over and checked for a pulse and breathe, nothing. There was a girl next to him who was as pale as he was and not moving.

"Horvath."

In her mind Anara was running through a list of spells that would cause this. It was Horvath, and he wanted to open the Grimhold, which took a lot of power to do. That was it, power. Anara checked Drake's fingers and his ring was missing. Cursing under her breath, she shoved the Morganian girl off the bed and cast her into a holding cell in a portal realm.

She rubbed her hands together as she sat on Drake's hips, focusing her energy in her hands. When her hands were charged enough, she shoved them onto Drake's chest and didn't let go. The electric current ran through Drake's cold body and when Anara was sure that it reached all his limbs, she kissed him and breathed soft fire into his open mouth. A few moments later Drake's eyes fluttered open to a smiling Anara.

"Anara? What…"

Anara silenced him with a kiss and breathed more warm fire into him. When Anara pulled back, her eyes had become reptilian, ears pointed, teeth sharpened, and nails curved.

"I thought you were a Merlinean."

"I am, sort of. I am their dragon."

Realization dawned on Drake and then everything made sense, except for one thing.

"What was with that fire?"

Anara blushed and fiddled with Drake's shirt.

"Well… um…"

"Out with it."

"It's used when a dragon claims a mate. It was the only way I could be sure you wouldn't die. Mates share the same life force."

Anara could see the wheels turning as Drake processed what that meant.

"So you and I…"

"Yea… please don't be mad."

Honestly, Drake never really saw himself with anyone long term but maybe it was Fate that led him to pass the ally that day. What he knew about dragons was that they lived longer than humans and mated for life. Well, at least he knew Anara was loyal, not that he would ever question her, ever, but he did have prescription-grade abandonment issues after all.

"How could I be mad? What about Horvath though?"

"Sorcerer's don't mess in the affairs of dragons. Rule number 18, and you fall under that rule now. They can't touch us, and vice versa, unless they decide to call demons or bring Sun Lok back."

"Sun Lok, the Chinese guy?"

"He is the Morganian dragon master."

"Oh, who is your master then?"

"The Prime Merlinean."

Drake couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"That bloke? Heaven help us."

"Oh he can't be that bad… can he?"

"Just wait."

Anara was drained from using so much energy to restart Drake's heart. With a huff, she fell on Drake's chest.

"You alright?"

"Just tired. Let me rest a bit, 'kay?"

"Sure."

Drake contented himself with running his fingers through Anara's hair. She had let him play with it before but only the ends. Now that he had a chance to fully run his fingers through it he wasn't going to let it go. A few moments went by; he heard a soft purring sound and felt a soft rumble on his chest. So dragons purr, no wonder why Anara didn't let him play with her hair before.

Wondering if Anara texted her parents, he slowly pulled her cell out and checked it. When he saw that she didn't, he took his cell from his nightstand and texted both her parents that he surprised Anara with theater tickets and that everything was okay. He received a text back moments later with a cute text from her mom about having fun. Her dad just sent a text for them to be careful. He was the typical protective father, Drake looked up to him.

Drake worried that Horvath would come back though, and without his ring, he was defenseless.

"Anara, I know you're tired but you need to cast a spell to make sure Horvath doesn't sense us."

Anara grumbled something unintelligible and waved her hand. She put her hand back on his chest and buried her nose in his shirt.

"Smell good… like cologne."

Drake shook his head and he continued to run his fingers through her hair, eventually he fell asleep.

It was late in the afternoon of the next day when Anara woke. The Prime Merlinean was calling her. She sent out her own call and pulled him in her direction. She was too tired to get up and she wasn't going to leave Drake. She looked down and smiled as she saw Drake fast asleep.

She could feel the Prime Merlinean coming closer and she struggled to get up. Her movement cause Drake to get up and he looked at Anara with a questioning look.

"The Prime is coming, apparently."

Drake shot up and looked around as if someone had yelled fire.

"Anara! I'm a Morganian! What were you thinking?"

Anara grabbed Drake's hand and pulled him back down on the bed.

"That doesn't matter anymore remember?"

The events of the previous night flitted through Drake's mind and he smiled.

"Oh, right. Brilliant."

There was a knock on the door and Anara went to go answer it. Outside was a very confused Prime Merlinean and Balthazar.

"This is Drake Stone's place. Why are you here?"

Anara rolled her eyes and held the door for them.

"Good observation Balthazar. Did it ever occur to you that I might know Drake?"

The two Merlineans grew suspicious and when they saw Drake come out of the bedroom, they each readied a plasma bolt.

"Hey, now, no need to be hasty."

Anara stepped between the Merlineans and her chosen mate.

"Harm him and it's the last thing you'll do."

"He is your mate? But he is a Morganian."

"Irrelevant. He is my chosen and you have no say in the matter."

The Prime Merlinean was confused but he knew about fighting for something close to his heart.

"Alright, but no tricky business."

Drake held up his hands and smiled, which didn't really help matters because it just looked like he was up to something.

"Drake, you aren't helping."

He just laughed and sat on his desk.

"I'm harmless right now, seeing as Horvath stole my ring."

The Prime looked at Drake then put his hand in his pocket.

"I'm giving this to you on good faith."

"Dave, don't."

Anara smiled as the Prime, Dave, walked across to Drake to give his ring back.

"Trust is a two way street, thank you, Prime Merlinean."

"Yea, you're welcome. You know you can call me Dave."

Balthazar shook his head at his apprentice, who still had a lot to learn.

"No Dave, a dragon doesn't call its master by its name; it's something of a curse."

Anara nodded as she motioned for the two to take a seat on the couch. As she sat on the opposite chair, Drake came over and sat on the chair's arm and began running his fingers through her hair.

"Correct, it would be like opening Pandora's Box, something I would rather not do."

A moment passed with nothing being said.

"So now what?"

Anara smirked at the Prime, clearly he was a handful for Balthazar. She silently wished him luck.

"Now we finish your training, you still have a lot to learn."

Balthazar stood and put his hat on.

"We will be in touch. I don't think we will need your services, seeing as Morgana is defeated, but Horvath is still out there, he will try again."

"I understand. Good luck, Prime… you too, Balthazar."

Balthazar nodded as he ushered his apprentice out the door.

"I feel bad for Dave."

Drake was admiring his ring in the light as he slid into the chair.

"Do you now? I feel bad for Balthazar, the Prime does not seem like a quick study."

Drake laughed as he told Anara of the time when he cornered Dave in the bathroom at Horvath's orders. Anara couldn't help but smile. Drake pulled her into his lap and they sat, relaxing in the evening sun.

"He was right about one thing though, what now?"

"Now? Now we relax. Fate brought us together, why anger Fate?"

"No, let's not anger Fate."

The two fell back asleep in each other's arms, happy they way things turned out.


End file.
